Reviews

A Doctor Who novel featuring the 4th Doctor from the TV series. A wonderful narration by the original voice of K-9, John Leeson. The story is the first in the Key to Time story arc. Full of suspense, mystery, and plenty of laughs. I would recommended more to fans of the early Doctors, but if you're curious to get to know the Classic Whos, this is a great starting point.

nwhyte's review against another edition

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http://nhw.livejournal.com/763482.html[return][return]What I remember most about the TV version is just the sense of cold; this is a snowy city on a chilly planet. Really very little sense of that in the novel. The intial set-up between the Doctor and Romana is changed substantially, and in my view not for the better; in the TV version, the White Guardian tells the Doctor that he will be assigned an assistant, and the Doctor when he encounters her spends the first few minutes practically hiding from her behind K-9. Marter's novelisation has Romana's arrival as a total surprise, and puts the two characters on a more equal footing, but somehow doesn't sparkle the same way. The final battle is much more gory in the book; but that's as we expect from a Marter novel.

sshabein's review against another edition

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4.0

A good adaptation, but why 75% of the dialogue tags had to be he/she "murmured," I do not know.

shane's review

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4.0

This has everything. Romana I(or is that Fred!), The White Guardian and a search for part of the Key of Time. Some nice one-liners from both the Doctor and Romana. The beginning was very good with all the to-ing and fro-ing with Romana's name and the end was very satisfying.

Very good characterisation too, with both the Doctor and Romana.

Recommended.

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